this post was submitted on 21 Apr 2026
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Privacy

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For example: in Canada, the bank accounts of those who protested were literally frozen (for simply speaking out or being critical) and talks of potential CBDCs (aka. used to deduct funds from one's account as a fine) whilst considering on abolishing cash altogether.

The alternative (for now at least) may be Crypto (online) until they consider that "illegal" in the future penalizing those who are using it, framing that as money laundering or tax evasion, whilst pushing their propaganda of "tap & go is safe & convenient".

The answers are divided between:

  • "Cash is King" (it allows anonymous or "private" transactions between you and the merchant)
  • "Contactless" (convenient, but your purchases & transactions are monitored by the state)

Cash is apparently the last bastion of "anonymous" transactions where it doesn't appear on one's statement and one gets to keep their money without the state deducting it from their account since a nation's central bank has monopoly over CBDCs and one's funds.

That's not even the end of it: them trying to make BTC or equivalent illegal by making CBDCs the default replacing gold overnight, it would mean all those bills you have are worthless. At this point, the only payment method is CBDCs that are linked to one's digital ID.

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[–] RabbitBBQ@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Cash in the United States is not as private as it seems. Eventually the bills will be scanned at various points through the financial system and the serial numbers are logged by these authorities. It may take some time to collect the data versus being able to view a blockchain, but cash isn't as anonymous as it appears. And with a vastly decreasing amount of cash in circulation, it makes it a lot easier for the Govt to track its usage. It's still the best option even considering cryptocurrencies.

Another reason for the decline in cash is that as the U.S. debt increases, the economy will have to inflate along with it, and it's much easier to manage increasing inflation in an economy without physical currency. If things get really bad and conditions exist that would cause a bank run, well, good luck doing that if you can't have cash. Run off with a copy of the database or something.

[–] PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

You are wrong about debt leading to inflation, that's monetarism and has been thoroughly debunked.

[–] karashta@sopuli.xyz 2 points 12 hours ago

I'm so tired of hearing people spout QTM bullshit. Good on you, stranger, for calling it out.